Lather making apparatus



Feb. 9, 1943. J, WAHL 2,310,379

LATHER MAKING APPARATUS Filed May 17., 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l Y if Feb. 9, 1943.

L, J. WAHL LATHER MAKING APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1941 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizvezzfi Zea J ZWQZQ Z Patented Feb. 9, 1943 I UETE STTES 2,310,379 manna MAKING APPARATUS Application May 17, 1941, Serial No. 393,979

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to lather making apparatus and is particularly directed to improvements in apparatus of the character illus-. trated in my prior application Serial No. 372,301, filed December 30, 1940, for Lather machine. It is the principal purpose of this invention to provide an improved lather making apparatus utilizing a resilient, porous member for wiping across a bar of soap to dissolve ofi a film of liqan improved discharge-l spout for the apparatus whereby to cause the lather to be discharged in a downward direction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to be understood however that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not uid soap and thereafter compress the resilient to be taken as limiting the invention except inmember so as to force the air entrapped theresofar as it is limited by the claims. in outwardly to make bubbles out of the liquid In the drawings: soap and thus createa lather. Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken substantially My invention contemplates the provision, in on the line l.l of Fig. 2, illustrating a preferred an apparatus of the character described, of means embodiment of the invention; whereby the resilient, porous element is confined Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially in such a fashion that any expansion 'orswell on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; ing that may take place during the use i thereof Fig. 3' is a plan sectional view taken substanwill not adversely affect the operation of the aptially on the line 33 of Fig.2; 7 p paratus. Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation looking at the My invention further contemplates as an obdevice from the right hand side of Fig. l but ject the provision of an apparatus of this charwith the cap removed; acter wherein the lather made in the operation g- 5 S a View in ide elevation O t e C p of the device is trapped or confined in a compar looking at it from the interior of the casing; tively small space and thereafter forced through Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken the dis-charge outlet without being caused to on the lined-.6 of Fig.2;and Work around and between moving parts of the Fig. 7 isa plan view of the heater elementemapparatus. bodied in the device.

In its specific form the apparatus utilizes a Referring now to the details of the drawings, sponge rubber body preferably in the form of the present invention is embodied in a device a ring or loop which is fitted upon a core bep of the character described wherein a casing Iii tween two end flanges. A drive roller mounted which is constructed of any suitable material adjacent the core and adapted to practically ensuch as a molded synthetic resin serves to house gage the end flanges is used both to turn the thevarious parts of the device. The casing it sponge rubber member and to compress it to 5 has a motor compartment in which a motor l2 force the air out through the film of soap thereis located. The casing ii? is also provided above on and thus produce soap bubbles. The thickand at one side of the motor compartment with ness of the sponge rubber bod-y is such that it a water compartment l3 while alongside of the can be compressed quite severely as it passes motor compartment the casing is provided with under the drive roller. The reason for this is to a substantially cylindrical compartment is in press out substantially all of the air and thus which the lather making apparatus is-located; get the maximum eficiency out of the material. The water compartment l3 has an outlet l5 (see If the rubber body is too thick I have found that Figs. 2 and 3) whereby water is discharged unthe compression occurs near the center of the der the control of a valve l6 into the lath-er makbody so that not much lather making takes place. ing compartment 14. I j However, by confining a relatively thin body of The casing has a soap guide and entrance the rubber between the roller and the core I am passage 1 "(that is formed directly over the chamable to get a rapid formation of lather. ber M and that is adapted to receive a bar of It is a further purpose of the invention to soap l8. A removable .cap 19 closes theopen provide an improved construction whereby to end of the compartment 14 and thi cap is proeliminate the need for packing where the drive roller enters the lather making compartment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel means for supplying heated lather from the apparatus.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide vided with a discharge spout 20 for discharging the lather formed in the compartment M The lower surface of the compartment 14 is provided with a plurality of depending ribs 2l...= these ribs being formed as indicated atl-22 (see Fig. 2) to receive a heater plate 23. 'I'woposts 24 and 25 are also molded beneath the compartment l4 and the heater element 23 is confined below the ribs 2| by means of an insulating sheet 26 of asbestos and a closure plate 21 which may be of any suitable material such as metal. The plate 21 is held in place by screws 28 that are threaded into the posts 24 and 25.

The shaft l2a of the motor |2 extends through a partition wall 30 between the compartments and I4 and carries a drive roller 3| which lies wholly within the compartment I4 but which is set into a semi-cylindrical recess 32 in one wall of the compartment.

An axle 33 has its base portion 34 threaded into the partition 30 and has a flange 35 fitting tightly against the partition. This axle extends through the cap l9 and is used as a means for holding the cap in place. The axle is threaded to receive a cap 36 which can be screwed against the cap |9 to clamp it in place. The axle 33 serves to rotatably mount a hub 31 which is flanged at both ends as indicated at 38 and 39. A sponge rubber ring 40 is mounted on the hub 31 between the flanges 38 and 39. The flanges 38 and 39 are of just such size as to fit closely against the drive roller 3| when the parts are in operative position.

There is a projecting rib 4| on the partition 30 which extends across the end face of the roller 3| just below its shaft (see Fig. 2) and which terminates against the flange 35 on the axle.

The function of the rib 4| is two-fold. It provides a close fitting guide for the end of the hub 31 and for the end of the drive roller 3| so as to shut off the flow of lather upwardly with the hub which travels upwardly as it passes the rib. In addition, by creating a barrier against the lather the rib 4| eliminates the necessity for having any packing-gland or stufling box where the shaft l2a enters the compartment M.

The cap l9 also has a rib 42 thereon, the rib 42 lying just above the opening to the discharge spout 20 and extending to and about the opening 43 for the axle 33 to pass through the cap l9. The function of the rib is to prevent lather working up past the flange 38 on the hub 31.

Referring now to the spout 20, it will be noted that the outer end of the spout is provided with a downturned top lip 44 so that the actual outlet is directed downwardly and outwardly at an angle of about 45 to the horizontal and at right angles to the terminal face 45 of the spout. I have found that by this construction of spout the lather, which comes out quite dry, will be caused to turn and fall straight downward without any tendency to curl either inwardly or outwardly. On the contrary I have found that if the lather is merely allowed to move straight outward through a spout its own weight will cause it to take a curved set after it leaves the spout and it will then curl inward beneath the spout to engage the support for the lather making device. If the spout is curved I find I have the same difficulty, that is, the dry lather takes a curved set and continues to curve right on back toward the support for the lather making apparatus after it is discharged from the spout. The present type of spout is particularly effective in breaking up the tendency of the lather to go horizontally and in causing it to take a vertical direction as it is discharged from the spout.

The spout is also easy to clean since it is short and open; This is an essential feature in devices of this character.

It is believed that the operation of the device will be readily understood by a brief explanation. The direction of rotation of the drive roller 3| and of the sponge rubber body 40 is indicated in Figs. 2 and 5. That is, the rubber moves upwardly after passing under the roller 3| and then wipes across the bottom of the soap bar H3. The bar l8 merely rests on the sponge rubber by its own weight. The roller 3| of course squeezes out much of the moisture from the sponge rubber but nevertheless the surface is left with sufllcient moisture to dissolve a thin layer or film of soap from the bottom of the bar I8. This layer of soap is of course applied after air has an opportunity to enter the channels and holes in the porous body. More moisture is added as the sponge rubber moves down past the water inlet at l5. Of course, the amount of water may be controlled so as to make the lather more or less dry as desired. The moistened surface of the sponge rubber however will not of itself create any lather until it begins to be compressed as it approaches the drive roller 3|. The drive roller sharply compresses the sponge rubber and forces the air out of its porous interior, the air forming with the soap film the minute bubbles which comprise lather.

Devices of this character are used intermittently in barber shops as the need for lather arises. It is desirable to have the lather heated at the proper temperature and this is accomplished in my device by the heater 23. The heater 23 is located beneath the compartment l4 and acts to heat up the whole compartment, but in addition heat is absorbed by the large hub 31 so that when the machine is started up to make lather there is an adequate amount of heat available in the hub 31 and in the compartment M to assure the proper temperature of the lather. The heater 23 may be operated continuously and be of very small heat capacity since it does not have to quickly supply enough heat to heat the lather as it is formed.

It is a well known fact that the oils found in soap tend to cause rubber to swell, particularly where the soap and rubber are continuously together as in a device of this character. This swelling tendency will result in increasing the size of the rubber body 4'] but owing to the peculiar construction employed the expansion of the rubber does not bind against the wall of the compartment M so as to make it more difiicult to run the machine. The rubber may expand radially with the net result being that the bar of soap l8 might be held a little higher and the clearance around the rubber in the compartment l4 would be decreased. Enough clearance is provided however to prevent binding. The expansion of the rubber does not adversely affect the operation of the drive roller because the rubber, in order to get between the drive roller and the hub 31, is always confined between the flanges 33 and 39. Its expansion therefore merely means that it will be compressed to a greater degree as it passes under the roller 3|. The rubber itself cannot engage the ribs 4| and 42 to increase the friction opposing the rotation of the hub 31.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the construction and operation of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A lather mixing apparatus, comprising a lather forming member of resilient porous material, a support for said member, said support having flanges confining said member, a drive roller pressing on the surface of said member opposite the support to drive the member, said drive roller substantially meeting said flanges whereby to'define with the support and its flanges a restricted channel for said member to pass through, and means to supply a film of soap to the surface of said member prior to its passage through the restricted channel.

2. A lather mixing apparatus, comprising a lather forming member of resilient porous material, a support for said member, said support having flanges confining said member, a drive roller pressing on the surface of said member opposite the support to drive the member, said drive roller substantially meeting said flanges whereby to define with the support and its flanges a restricted channel for said member to pass through, means to supply a film of soap to the surface of said member prior to its passage through the restricted channel, a casing having a chamber enclosing said member, said support and said roller, and heating means in said casing supplying heat to the chamber and the aforesaid parts therein.

3. A lather mixing apparatus, comprising a lather forming member of resilient porous material, a support for said member, said support having flanges confining said member, a drive roller pressing on the surface of said member opposite the support to drive the member, said drive roller substantially meeting said flanges whereby to define with the support and its flanges a restricted channel for said member to pass through, means to supply a film of soap to the surface of said member prior to its passage through the restricted channel, a casing having a chamber enclosing said member, said support and said roller, and ribs on the walls of said chamber closely fitting the roller ends and the flanges to avoid feeding of lather beyond the restricted channel.

4. A lather mixing apparatus, comprising a casing having a lather mixing chamber therein, means in said casing for furnishing lather making material to said chamber, an axle in the chamber, a hub thereon having a peripheral channel, a resilient porous lather forming ring in said channel of substantially greater thickness than the depth of the channel, a drive roller extending lengthwise of the hub across said channel and having its surface spaced from the bottom of the channel a distance substantially less than the thickness of said ring whereby to compress the ring into the channel where the ring passes between the drive roller and the hub, a discharge spout at one end of the roller and hub, a drive shaft for said roller entering the chamber at the other end of the roller, and means on the chamber cooperating with the roller and the hub to keep the lather from working up to the shaft entrance.

5. A lather mixing apparatus, comprising a casing having a lather mixing chamber therein, means in said casing for furnishing lather making material to said chamber, an axle in the chamber, a hub thereon having a peripheral channel, a resilient porous lather forming ring in said channel of substantially greater thickness than the depth of the channel, a drive roller extending lengthwise of the hub across said channel and having its surface spaced from the bottom of the channel a distance substantially less than the thickness of said ring whereby to compress the ring into the channel where the ring passes between the drive roller and the hub, a discharge spout at one end of the roller and hub, a drive shaft for said roller entering the chamber at the other end of the roller, and means on the chamber cooperating with the roller and the hub to keep the lather from working up past the top of the discharge spout.

6. A lather mixing apparatus, comprising a casing having a lather mixing chamber therein, means in said casing for furnishing lather making material to said chamber, an axle in the chamber, a hub thereon having a peripheral channel, a resilient porous lather forming ring in said channel of substantially greater thickness than the depth of the channel, a drive roller extending lengthwise of the hub across said channel and having its surface spaced from the bottom of the channel a distance substantially less than the thickness of said ring whereby to compress the ring into the channel where the ring passes between the drive roller and the hub, a discharge spout at one end of the roller and hub, a drive shaft for said roller entering the chamber at the other end of the roller, and a heating element in the casing beneath the chamber.

7. In a lather mixing machine, a lather mixing chamber, a discharge spout extending horizontally from said chamber, said spout having its outlet end provided with a top portion that extends downwardly and outwardly beyond the termination of the lower edge, the lower wall of said spout being substantially straight and horizontal to the discharge edge.

8. A lather mixing apparatus, comprising a casing having a lather mixing chamber therein, means in said casing for furnishing lather making material to said chamber, an axle in the chamber, a hub thereon having a peripheral channel, a resilient porous lather forming ring in said channel, a drive roller extending lengthwise of the hub across said channel and having its surface spaced from the bottom of the channel a distance substantially less than the thickness of the ring and cooperating with the Walls of said channel to define an aperture whereby to compress the ring into the channel where the ring passes between the drive roller and the hub, a discharge spout at one end of the roller and hub, and a drive shaft for said roller entering the chamber at the other end of the roller.

LEO J. WAHL. 

